need a new suit, looking at Xcel or O Neil 6/5/4 hooded. have never had either brand of suit. I would have thought xcel would be the better choice, but the Oneil is £70 cheaper

My most important criteria is that the suit is warm, as my current 5/4 C skins has worn out within a year, and leaves me so cold that i dread getting in the water at this time of year ( and its not even cold yet)

Would prefer to get it from a shop rather than online, but secret spot (cayton) only have LT xcel 6/5/4 in stock at the moment

can only comment on Xcel for winter suit but I wear it from end of November through to end of May in some cold Scottish rivermouths - I wear 5/4 with hooded thermal rashie, rashie removed around end of April .................. my theory is the 6/5/4 makes you lazy and wait for your waves as opposed to keeping your temp up a little by paddling looking for waves ..... 2 bob inserted.

I'm going to disagree with ATTMFKH . I don't like thermal rashies because they bunch up and chafe, and I think they reduce flexibility more than you expect. I always have a 6mm for winter, and I'm the sort of surfer that is always paddling and catches 20 waves in an hour rather than sit way out back waiting for sets. But I feel the cold being 10 1/2 stone, and hate being cold, thats when you hurt yourself/pull muscles etc. 6mm can start to get a bit leaky and it still keeps you warm.

I have worn a psychofreak 5.5/4, and it is not as warm as the xcel 6mm. I just bought a new xcel 6mm, I think they are still the best..

i went and tried on Xcel LT 6mm hooded..immediately felt like a really big chunky suit.legs and lower body was a decent fit, but very baggy on my top half from mid chest upwards including arms. that kind of rules out MT as being a decent fit, as my lower body would most likely not get in it as im filling out the LT well

no other suits in the shop that were suitable other than the ripcurl Flash bomb 6mm hooded. tried on an XL and it fits my legs and lower body well, and is surprisingly a tight fit on my chest and back. arms could be a little tighter, but i am bulking up down the gym for 3 months so that shouldnt be an issue

feels very comfortable, quite flexible, and although i can feel it is a 6mm and its thick, its not too heavy. i had a good chat regarding xcel quality and ripcurl issues, and the rip curl has a 3 year warranty on the seams.

will report back as soon as i get in for a splash...gotta be a damn sight warmer than my c skins though !

ATTMFKH wrote:can only comment on Xcel for winter suit but I wear it from end of November through to end of May in some cold Scottish rivermouths - I wear 5/4 with hooded thermal rashie, rashie removed around end of April .................. my theory is the 6/5/4 makes you lazy and wait for your waves as opposed to keeping your temp up a little by paddling looking for waves ..... 2 bob inserted.

Same set up as me; 5/4 XCEL with polypro hooded rashie, never had any problems with my "panties getting up in a bunch" like swiggy. If we both wore Alder plasma boot people would think we did our shopping together

ATTMFKH wrote:can only comment on Xcel for winter suit but I wear it from end of November through to end of May in some cold Scottish rivermouths - I wear 5/4 with hooded thermal rashie, rashie removed around end of April .................. my theory is the 6/5/4 makes you lazy and wait for your waves as opposed to keeping your temp up a little by paddling looking for waves ..... 2 bob inserted.

Same set up as me; 5/4 XCEL with polypro hooded rashie, never had any problems with my "panties getting up in a bunch" like swiggy. If we both wore Alder plasma boot people would think we did our shopping together

same rashie , same suit, same boots ................. what you doing on Saturday night

I have an O'Neil MT and I don't think it is very good. The material is coming off one of the wrists and starting to at the legs, the material had a bit of "delamination" above the bum (not where it was rubbing surprisingly) and there is a space around the neck.

The fit isn't great for me either; I am tall and skinny - 6'2 and 11st so it bunches a bit around the abdomen (and is actually a touch too long for me).

It is very warm though, and surprisingly easy to get into.

My favourite suits are Billabong, and I think I will go back to them for my next.

but, i have, this winter gone from ripcurl to oneill rg8 and did look at xcel as an option.

xcel neoprene did seem more elastic, but the finish and detail on the suit i did not consider as good.

will the oneill last, who knows as its still a new suit, it can't be worse than a few months as with rip curl these days. the o'neill is beautifully made and well thought out, fittings are good.

maybe the rg8 would not have been my first choice but i went with it over pshycos for the chest zip option. the neoprene is definitely less elastic than the ripcurls i had before, and i'll be honest at first i was a little unsure about it to begin with but now after some use, its a little hard to explain, its like the whole suit has loosened up and moulded to me. i really like it now. its also way warmer than the ripcurl, singlelined panels are definitely a must have option.

been in Xcel Infiniti and more recently the drylock for about 5 years now, had Psycho 2's before that, much prefer the Xcel though. Don't wear rashies but the wetty is hooded, in 7mm boots now but only 3mm gloves, might rock out thicker gloves if we ever get any decent waves again in this winter

No issues with the suit, had it now since Nov 2011 and it has seen some good use, seams are all good (and fucks knows I put some pressure on them!) and there's no other wear or tear damage I know of. Would always recommend them for the east coast but it is more about finding the one that fits ou right and wearing that, although you have to take some balance with quality as well!

Vince Noir wrote:hmmm, its not easy finding a good fitting suit when you are tall and of a slight- decent build

C-skins medium tall suits fit me like a glove, but i dont think the quality is anywhere near required for a east coast winter

am hoping to get in this weekend and try my ripcurl out

seems like its too late by now, but for what it's worth it sounds like we have a similar build. I,m 6'3" and not too heavily built. o Neill MT fits me like a glove. I have the 5/3 Pyscho 2 and only now into it's third winter is it starting to let a little water in. nice and warm for the North sea too.

Before I moved over from Aus, I always had Rip curl suits and was pretty happy with them.

Turns out I've had my last one sine November 2007, so I got 6 winters out of it (or 5 and a half ish... is that right?) which is pretty good. I reckon it was one of the best things I ever bought anyway so I hope this one does as well.

Turns out I've had my last one sine November 2007, so I got 6 winters out of it (or 5 and a half ish... is that right?) which is pretty good. I reckon it was one of the best things I ever bought anyway so I hope this one does as well.

How did you manage that? I've never got more than 2 out of one. I feel the cold though

I think it was a combination of Black Witch, Iron Mend, surfing less than once a week and putting up with and increasing number of little leaks over the last year or two. And I've looked after it fairly well in terms of rinseing and drying and hanging it and stuff. I do feel the cold too though - you can't fail to found here.